We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Those who have become infected, chose to take the risk resulting from no inoculation or their parents decided for them (parental rights trump state rights). Those who took the inoculation are protected. Where's the problem here. Everybody should get to make their own choice based on how much risk they believe they are taking, or not taking. Those who did not get inoculated are only putting like minded people at risk (who are willing to accept the risk).
The right to be ignorant shall not be infringed. Regardless of who is ignorant.

Unfortunately, the vaccine is NOT 100% effective when there's a bad outbreak. According to the article, 5 out of 34 who have measles had full vaccination protection - that's almost 15% who thought they were protected but contracted measles anyway. So the anti-vaccine crowd is putting more than just themselves as risk.

And many of the victims were in the too-young-to-have-the-immunization category. The refusers have basically taken a disease below the threshold where "community immunity" protects the odd un-immunized person, the frail, the very young, and those with compromised immune systems.
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/herd-immunity-0

It sounds as though you (both) endorse forced medication at the whim (decision) of government (for the good of the children of course). I have to say that I can't think of a worse idea. The choice that exist now probably won't be for long. Who knows what "vaccine" you might be required to take next. I wouldn't be surprised if you wouldn't be denied all medical coverage from Obamacare in the absence of inoculations; and still have to pay for your insurance. It may not be written in to law yet, but Obama ain't gone yet. Think I'm crazy? Time will tell. There are enough on the right that would love to dictate what I must do as well.
(If I come off snotty, I don't mean to.)

The vaccine issue is complicated. Some diseases are very well controlled with vaccines and others less well controlled. But 100 years ago half of the children born in this country would die, most before age 5, because of diseases we now prevent with vaccines. Would we prefer to have smallpox back because of some wish to be free to not vaccinate your own children? The scientists will tell you that some diseases that we control with vaccines require a very large percentage of the population actually have the vaccination in order to prevent an epidemic. This "herd immunity" is dependent on almost everyone getting vaccinated. Should the government allow a disease to run rampant so that some people can excercise their right to be foolish?

My mother was terrified of polio because she had polio as a young girl. In the 40's and early 50's no one really knew how we got polio. Yes we knew it was a communicable virus but there was misinformation and lack of information such that some thought it was a result of warm summer weather or swimming in ponds or humidity. My mother would keep her children in the house on really hot days with the curtains drawn an the windows closed. (no air conditioning) She did this out of fear and ignorance of how polio was contracted. I was in grade school when the vaccine became available and I was immunized in school as all American children were. I cannot tell you the relief my parents had and the parents of other children that polio was beaten. My uncle (or second uncle) had polio and was in a iron lung. I went to visit him with my mother at the hospital and can still see it in my memory's eye. Scary, the machine made a lot of noise and the only thing you could see was his head. I was probably 6 years old. That's gone in the U.S. because of vaccines. Almost all the worst communicable diseases are gone in the first world because of vaccines. That wouldn't be true if only 50% of the people got vaccinated. So which is the wiser decision: to require vaccination with few exemptions or to allow people to do whatever they want to?

#31 I can't wait to try Dominick's in the Bronx- skip the menu and just tell the waiter what you feel like eating! With 2 of our 4 children living in NYC, one at Fordham, and one in Brooklyn, we have to make the trek from Maine to the big city sometimes, actually it's one of our favorite things to do, and it's great to have additional ideas for places to visit.

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